Higher Education SPROUT Project

2021 Achievements of the Main Inventory of Higher Education Sprout Project

National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) is the most comprehensive university with marine field characteristics in Taiwan and the world. Through the parallel development of the marine field with industry, government, education, and research, NTOU has become the most important cradle for the cultivation of marine industry talents in our country. In 2021, through the Higher Education Sprout Project of the Ministry of Education, the university continued to forge ahead by promoting the following four aspects: implementing teaching innovation, developing school features, enhancing the publicity of higher education, and fulfilling social responsibility.

1. Implementing Teaching Innovation and Improving Teaching Quality

Summary

Make continued improvements in the aspects of general literacy, the freshman online peer review writing platform for the Chinese language, rewards for English certification, academic guidance and counseling, intelligent vehicle teaching, compulsory programming language courses, compulsory introduction to artificial intelligence courses, cross-domain learning, digital learning, international cooperation; strengthen industry-academia practices and teacher support measures.

Results

• Enhance learning effectiveness:The use of cloud learning platforms and digital teaching materials in teaching grew by approximately 1.7 times in 2021 compared with 2020. Credits were obtained for 3 cross-school general education MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), for which the number of participating students was 189.  Promoted digital learning programs for economically and culturally underprivileged students, with 763 courses completed in 2021, setting a new high. Forty-two teachers involved in the integration of mobile vehicles into teaching in 2021, as a 127% increase compared to the previous year, while the number of students participated rose to 2,086 in the same year, as a 112% increase on a year-over-year basis; such results were presented in an open class to a total of 88 teachers. The number of teacher education students that participated in inquiry and implementation-oriented courses accounted for 80.95% of the school’s teacher education students. Held 175 courses on improving schoolwork guidance measures as well as 83 professional courses.  Promoted self-study programs for the programming student community and special talent selection.
• Strengthen professional practice: Freshman year industry-academia tour courses were offered in 19 departments, accounting for about 76% of the school’s departments, while 106 people took the general education courses established by outstanding alumni. In 2021, 203 students and 109 teachers participated in the “Summer Learning Practice and Experience Program for College Students”, for which a subsequent online achievement presentation was organized. In 2021, NTOU signed the cooperation agreement “The Establishment of Intelligent Aquaculture Techniques and the Cultivation of R&D Talents” with Topco Scientific Co., Ltd. in order to cultivate high-end aquaculture talents. Besides, JFY CO. will provide scholarships, internships, and work opportunities for NTOU’s junior, senior, master, and doctoral students, in effect bringing the workplace onto campus and turning the classroom into an internship site. The university also signed a talent cultivation memorandum with the CR Classification Society, which stipulates the setting up of lecture courses, as well as the establishment of scholarships and industry-academia cooperation. The CR Classification Society also helps to arrange the filling of internships and job vacancies, so as to incorporate high-level talents into Taiwan’s industrial development projects related to marine, ship, and offshore wind energy.
• Cultivate key capabilities: In 2021, a cross-domain curriculum module was constructed for a total of 8 course groups, with 40 teachers and 1,051 students participating in the courses. In addition, 24 maker training courses were held, which were attended by about 504 people and provided guidance to 15 entrepreneurial student teams. The student entrepreneurial teams “Xunwei Hunter” and “Circle” each received a subsidy of NT$100,000 from the Maker Program of the Ministry of Education, with NTOU also rewarding each team a subsidy of NT$5,000 and publicly praising them. “Jiang Feng Aquatic Products” participated in and won the 5th BTSC, to which NTOU rewarded the group with a subsidy of NT$100,000. In the second semester of the 2020 school year, the total number of NTOU students that took compulsory courses on basic programming languages reached about 94.1% of the total number of undergraduate students, while “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” was also introduced as a compulsory course. Marine literature creation activities were held, which were participated by approximately 276 people.  Enjoy Water (Club) and Overseas Chinese Student Association represented NTOU at the 2021 National Universities and Colleges Outstanding Club Evaluation, with both groups winning the High Distinction Award.
• Enhance teachers’ teaching innovation and practical experience:In 2021, a total of 95 open classes were held, an evident increase of 2.37 times compared with 40 classes in 2020. The number of teachers participating in observations increased by 2.68 times compared with 2020, and teaching innovation was included in the teacher’s promotion scoring guidelines. Presented rewards for the development of digital teaching materials for different grade levels, an initiative participated by 18 teachers. The “Functional Substance Spherification Oral Preparation Technology” by Professor Hsin-Yiu Chou from the Department of Aquaculture and Professor Li-Li Chen from the Institute of Marine Biology; and the proprietary technology “Diffused Endplate Propeller” by Professor Young-Zher Kehr from the Department of Systems Engineering & Naval Architecture won the 2021 Award for Excellent Contributions in Technology Transfer. “Herbmedotcin for Animal Antibiotics” by Professor Han-Jia Lin and Professor Chih-Ching Huang from the Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology won the Bronze Award at the 2021 Taipei Biotech Awards for Technology Transfer Cooperation. A total of 36 teachers participated in the “Teaching Practice Research Pilot Development Project”. The number of 52 applications for the Teaching Practice Research Program of the Ministry of Education in the 2022 academic year increased by about 3.5 times compared with the number of applications in 2018 (15).

2. Developing School Features

Summary

Refine research on marine characteristics, promote school-wide marine education and marine teaching materials, promote national marine awareness, cultivate students’ marine literacy, establish student clubs with water sports characteristics, integrate with the international marine industry, engage in transnational cooperation on teaching and research, and work toward the development vision of “Top International Ocean University”. 

Results

• Cultivate marine professionals: With a total of 35 departments, the teaching units for marine field education are the most comprehensive and complete. The marine characteristic course “Introduction to Marine Science” is a compulsory course for university level freshman. Publish marine characteristic books, develop industrial chain projects, and cultivate industrial talents in important key areas of the country, such as offshore wind power.
• Promote marine popular science education: Organized the National Marine Education Week, which was participated by a total of 10,554 people. The marine careers exploration event was developed and served to enhance people’s understanding of the relationship between life and the ocean, holding 33 sessions that were participated by 1,705 people. Hosted the Fourth Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage, which was participated by more than 300 people. Held the ocean kayak and SUP experience camp, which was participated by approximately 2400 people.
• Commitment to transnational teaching and research cooperation: Signed a transnational teaching and research cooperation contract with 109 schools and institutions around the world, established the Artificial Intelligence Research Center, upgraded the “Marine Engineering Technology Center” to a school-level center, and cultivated research on major marine characteristic themes, including “Global Climate Change”, “Sustainable Ocean Development”, “Marine Affairs”, “Marine Biotechnology and Food Safety”, “Marine Engineering”, “Green Energy Technology”, “Program Language”, “5G and Artificial Intelligence Technology Application in Ocean Issues”, and other issues of global concern.

3. Enhance the Publicity of Higher Education

Summary

Improve the student aid mechanism for economically and culturally underprivileged students, set up an indigenous student resource center, reduce the ratio of students to teachers on campus, protect the rights and interests of teachers, establish openness and transparency in university information disclosure, designate student representatives to participate in the school meeting system, and develop lifelong learning channels. 

Results

• Improve counseling and opportunities：For the fundraising event “Caring for Underprivileged Students Study at Ease Scholarship”, a total of NT$11.36 million was raised from 2018 to 2021 and used for the provision of scholarships and bursaries to economically and culturally underprivileged students. A total of 309 students received scholarships in 2021, for a total scholarship amount of NT$4,329,000 and with each student receiving an average of NT$14,010 in subsidies. According to the questionnaire survey, 90.8% of the students who received the scholarships used the scholarships to supplement their living expenses, and 65.5% used them to learn new skills and strengthen their language abilities. In terms of learning plans, the MOOCs digital learning plan was widely praised by students, with 66% of students reporting that they reduced the time spent on their part-time job and learned new knowledge. Enrollment opportunities for Indigenous students were also expanded, with the 2021 academic year seeing an enrollment of 122 indigenous students, an increase of 22% from the 2019 academic year.
• Decrease the student-teacher ratio: The student-teacher ratio was 16.09 for the day school system, 3.9 for postgraduates, and 18.19 across the entire university.
• Requiring openness of university information: Combine teaching quality assurance with institutional research, specify a system for student participation in school affairs, and publicly disclose information related to university affairs on the university’s website. 

4. Fulfilling Social Responsibility

Summary

Establish incentive measures for teachers, incorporate field practice into curriculum design, perpetuate traditional culture, develop ecological restoration, conduct cross-school and transnational cooperation, introduce Japanese local creative experience and translation mechanisms, strengthen the sharing of teaching and research resources, deeply cultivate local talents, and fulfill the responsibility of marine education.

Results

• Develop and deepen teaching practices: In 2021, a total of 18 teachers participated in the university’s social responsibility program and received flexible salaries, with the total salary amount amounting to NT$3,199,000. Developed 6 sets of marine culture teaching materials, cooperated with a TV station to film “Guardians of Formosa: Ocean” to promote marine education, and won the 2021 Golden Bell Award.
• Strengthen the sharing of teaching and research resources: Established 2 smart culture bases in cooperation with aquaculture operators, and increased the turnover of white shrimp in the cooperation field by 4.5%. Organized transnational (6 countries) student workshops to exchange local creative experiences. Organized marine literacy courses participated by a total of 120 high school students; 14 community empowerment workshops for college and senior high school teachers participated by 856 teachers; and accompanied study plans for underprivileged senior high school students participated by twenty senior high school students.

2021 Highlights of the Main Inventory of Higher Education Sprout Project

1. Teaching Innovation

(1) Improve student’s learning effectiveness

Promote result-oriented courses and change course plans

Adopt information technology in teaching

Teachers adopted teaching plans that integrated mobile vehicles or technological equipment in teaching, effectively creating new teaching models and enhancing students’ concentration and interest. Learning results were also presented in a result-oriented manner. The number of participating teachers in 2021 was 42, 1.27 times higher than that in 2020 (33), and student participation has also been increasing year by year. The 2,086 students who participated in 2021 were 1.18 times that of 2020, and an even higher magnitude than that of 2019 (about 1,170 students participated in 2020 and about 977 students participated in 2019). Due to the severe epidemic this year, online teaching was adopted in which teachers used APPs and smart vehicles in teaching and AR and VR teaching materials were integrated into several courses to improve the interactivity of online teaching.

Figure: AR and VR teaching materials were integrated into various courses.

Figure: AR teaching materials were developed by instructors and integrated into their courses.

Inquiry and practice-oriented courses

Focused on cultivating the diversified narrative abilities of teacher education students through the utilization of a learning by doing approach. The number of students that participated in the teacher education program year by year were 22 in 2018, 60 in 2019, 83 in 2020, and 91 in 2021, while the teacher education students who participated in the inquiry and practice-oriented courses accounted for 80.95% of the school’s teacher education students. In 2021, 136 practical works and 95 special reports were produced, respectively, while the plan as a whole has been promoted for 4 years and has gradually achieved results.

Promote summary-integrated courses

In 2021, summative courses were established for the college level, among which the 37 courses established by 19 departments were participated by 1,429 students. Special report competitions were also held to show students’ learning achievements. Another 40 teachers organized 8 groups of subject-based courses, which adopted a competition model to conduct summative course inspections and were participated by 1,051 students.

Figure: Instructors apply competition model to conduct summative course and inspire students' learning motivation.

Application competitions for rewarding outstanding disciplinary performance

Competitions were used as a way to cultivate teamwork, enhance learning motivation, and promote professional growth, with at least 127 students winning awards in the off-campus competitions held in 2021. Among them, 4 student teams collectively won first place, second place, third place, and the Excellent Work and Best Popularity Awards for a sub-item at the 26th International ICT Innovative Services Awards, demonstrating the outstanding achievements of NTOU students in innovative information application. Furthermore, information engineering students participated in the programming language contest “Swift Student Challenge” organized by Apple Worldwide Developers Conference WWDC21 for the first time this year, with the time measuring game “Time Flies” winning this year’s award. As one of “only two” Taiwanese winners, the work produced an exceptional performance.

(2) Strengthen students’ professional practice

Practice and Experience-Based Summer Learning Program for college students with a focus on active learning

Practice and Experience-Based Summer Learning Program for college students

The program requires students to take the initiative to ask teachers to carry out research project cooperation. According to the analysis conducted by university affairs, about 60% of the students who participated in the program continued to study at the university’s graduate school, of which 23% participated in the university’s Five-Year BA-MA Program. As a result, the university has continued to subsidize cases for the program, subsidizing a total of 109 cases in 2021 that were participated by 203 students and 109 assisting instructors; an online results sharing was also subsequently held at https://reurl.cc/437X5R. At the same time, students voted for the Popularity Award to encourage mutual improvement and growth.

Figure: Instructors and students participated Practice and Experience-Based Summer Learning Program, which they got great success and reward. 

(3) Cultivate students’ key abilities

Integrate general education and strengthen holistic education literacy

Enhance marine and humanistic literacy

Provided general education core literacy lectures, with the number of participating students accounting for about 42% of the university’s students (KPI). Organized marine literature creation activities that were participated by approximately 296 people; for example, for the 10^th Marine Literature Award, 44 student award-winning works were selected out of 221 submissions, and for the “Write a Love Poem for You” call for essay on ocean love poems, 17 outstanding student works were selected from the 75 submitted works. In addition, writers-in-residence Wang Qijiang and teacher Liao Hung-Chi conducted 4 “Marine Literature Lectures”, which invited experts and lecturers from various industries to deliver “Quality Language General Lectures”; and the university pushed for the school-wide implementation of the freshman compulsory 2-credit course “Introduction to Marine Science”, so that the students of all departments have a grasp of the basic concepts of marine science. 7 large-scale school-level “Blue Ocean Lectures” were also held, for which scholars and experts with expertise in various fields or celebrities with outstanding achievements were invited to give special lectures.

Figure: Writers-in-residence Wang Qijiang conducted one of “Marine Literature Lectures” to foster students' marine literature literacy.

Figure: One of large-scale school-level “Blue Ocean Lectures” was held to inspire students' various marine knowledge.

Strengthen students’ narrative skills in both Chinese and English

All freshman students engage in online peer-review writing in Chinese to enhance writing skills through the observation of peer’s writings. Every semester, all freshman students complete about 2,600 Chinese writings, while the completion rate for the English language freshman writing platform was about 81%. In 2021, 396 students were awarded subsidies that covered the registration fee of the English proficiency test, among which the winners of the merit award (intermediate-high) and the special award (advanced) were 117 and 12 respectively. Meanwhile, students have also performed well in activities such as the Ocean English Vocabulary Competition, Ocean English Reader Reading Competition, and Ocean English Guided Short Film Competition. 

Figure: Various English competitions were held to motivate students' English literacy.

Develop diverse student clubs to foster independence and creativity

Encourage the diversified development of university student clubs to enhance students’ soft power, among which, Enjoy Water (Club) and Overseas Chinese Student Association both won the High Distinction Award at the 2021 National Universities and Colleges Outstanding Club Evaluation. In addition, 14 student clubs organized service programs for primary and secondary schools throughout the academic year, with a total of 398 students visiting and providing services to 10 primary and secondary schools. During the winter vacation, caring camp activities were also organized that benefited 175 people and also served to cultivate students’ social care abilities. 

Figure: Enjoy Water (Club) and Overseas Chinese Student Association both won the High Distinction Award at the 2021 National Universities and Colleges Outstanding Club Evaluation.

Cultivate students’ social care ability and media literacy

The university’s Gongliao site in New Taipei City was used as a service learning base to conduct a professional service learning on marine professional fields, an event that was participated by 185 students. In addition, 36 BLS certified by the Taiwan Society of Emergency Medicine were successfully obtained through the “Basic Life Saving (BLS) Training Course” conducted in conjunction with the National Defense Medical Center; and physicians from the Tri-Services General Hospital gave lectures to the residents of Keelung, Gongliao, and Yilan on topics such as the prevention and treatment of breast cancer and diets for improving immunity through the organizing of the “Medical and Health Related Lectures”. In regards to the above events, 8 sessions were held that were participated by 274 people, thereby using relevant course activities to cultivate students’ social care abilities. In addition, teachers in the field of media expertise were hired to offer media literacy courses in order to strengthen students’ media literacy capabilities.

Figure: The Tri-Services General Hospital gave lectures to the residents of Keelung, Gongliao, and Yilan.

(4) Promote Teacher Teaching Innovation

Teacher empowerment and cross-domain development plan

Strengthen the Flying Eagle Soaring Project

With experienced teachers supporting new teachers, the project aimed to quickly and accurately develop the skills of new teachers in the fields of teaching, research, service, and counseling. The project was divided into 2 phases, for which the revision to the “Teacher Promotion Method” in 2021 stipulated that new teachers that were hired in the first semester of 2021 participate in the first phase of the project, with 16 groups of teachers (39 teachers) implementing the first phase of the project. The second phase of the project was a teaching improvement plan, in which new teachers that completed the first phase could choose a course during their teaching period to apply for subsidies, so as to cover the teaching expenses required by the course. There were a total of 4 teachers in implementing the second phase of the project, in hopes of helping new teachers adapt to their teaching careers as soon as possible.

Figure: Experienced teachers supported new teachers to quickly develop the skills of teaching, research, service, and counseling. 

Establish model teaching videos for teachers

 To incorporate innovative ideas and thinking into teaching and adopt innovative tools and teaching methods, short videos of 3 to 10 minutes were produced to provide a teaching reference for teachers throughout the university. By 2021, a total of 9 videos on various topics including “The Concept and Types of Education Research” were produced, and the videos have also been uploaded to the exclusive website of “Teacher Plus” https://www.o-channel.org/teacherplus to promote the diversified development of teaching methods through the perspective of peer learning.

Figure: “Teacher Plus” assists instructors' teaching methods and skills.

Promote teacher communities and teaching innovation workshops, and improve the professionalism of the teacher communities

21 teacher communities were established to promote peer cooperation and sharing. In 2021, a total of 30 teacher workshops and teaching practice research workshops were held that were participated by 619 people. Due to the epidemic, the university also actively promoted remote teaching related skills and applications, including 16 sessions related to remote teaching topics.

Figure: Teaching communities are established to promote peer cooperation and sharing.

Figure: Teaching workshops were held to enhance instructors' teaching skills and techniques.

Implement the teaching observation mechanism

The university revised the “The Implementation Plan for the Selection and Reward for Teaching Excellence”, requiring that university-level excellent teaching candidates hold open classes and participate in teaching observations. A teaching observation information system http://academics.ntou.edu.tw/TDIS/ was also established to provide information on teachers’ observations conducted throughout the university. In 2021, the “Regulation for Faculty Promotion” was revised to include course observation as one of the thresholds for promotion. A total of 95 open classes were held in 2021, 2.37 times higher than the figure of 40 in 2020. The number of teachers participating in observations also increased (231) by 2.68 times compared to 2020 (86). On the whole, the plan inspired diverse teaching skills and thinking in teachers through the adoption of a institutionalized rewards system.

Figure: The teaching observation mechanism is organized to  provide instructors various teaching methods.

(5) Enhance Teachers’ Practical Experiences

Improve the practical ability of teachers by way of peer improvement and teaching practice

Promote teaching practice research and incorporate social practice into curriculum design

Encourage teachers to combine teaching practice with social issues. In 2021, practice exercises were conducted in regions such as Keelung Badouzi, Heping Island, Northeast Corner, and Matsu, in which teachers ventured into local communities to help solve problems. Throughout the duration of the course, the teachers designed packaging for local Gongliao Fishing Village cuisine and gelidium jelly drinks; developed the two local specialties of chicken soup with abalone and abalone scallop sauce; devised 6 sets of Keelung Heping Island marine education lesson plans; and created a gelidium and transparent fishbone specimen-making teaching kit.

Figure: The instructors designed and  developed the two local specialties for local Gongliao Fishing Village.

Teaching practice research and university support measures

With aim to encourage teachers to actively participate in teaching practice research.

Empowerment aspect: Implemented the “Teaching Practice Research Pilot Development Program” and the “Teaching Practice Research Program Teacher Community”, which were participated by a total of 36 teachers in 2021 and led to the forming of 5 teacher communities. Organized seminars and 3-day intensive courses to assist teachers in formulating teaching practice research plans.

Institutional aspect: Through the plan of the Ministry of Education, the principal publicly praised, award money was approved for merit plans, teacher evaluation was included in the exemption of evaluation, bonus measures were clearly defined for teaching promotion, and a flexible salary mechanism was established.

Counseling aspect: To strengthen teachers’ motivation to participate in teaching practice research, 4 sessions relating to the topics of creation of teacher guidance manuals and key points and experience sharing on document solicitation; 2 sessions of new teacher training, 19 sessions of one-on-one expert consultation, and 6 sessions of an exclusive counseling plan in which teachers are asked to independently seek out experts to carry out professional consultations were held; and an online consultation platform was established. The number of 52 applications for the Teaching Practice Research Program of the Ministry of Education in the 2022 academic year increased by about 3.5 times compared with the number of applications in 2018 (15), proving that the university’s multi-support measures have been effective.

Figure: The principal publicly praised the teacher who got the plan of the Ministry of Education.

Figure: A “Teaching Practice Research ”workshop was held to assist instructors facilitating their teaching skills.  

2. School Features

(1) Cultivate marine professionals

Develop industry-academia linkage programs

Develop industry-academia-research linkage programs to enhance academic value

In addition to industry-academia cooperation on patent and technology transfers—such as the JFY CO. Technology Transfer and Talent Cultivation Program, for which three forward-looking aquaculture technology transfer projects for precision aquaculture were signed with JFY CO. to cultivate fish-electricity symbiosis and smart aquaculture talents, the university has also had many outstanding performances in the area of industry-academia research. For example, the patent technology authorization of the “The Research and Development of Endplate Propeller Used in Silent Ships” by Emeritus Professor Young-Zher Kehr from the Department of Systems Engineering & Naval Architecture won the “2021 Award for Excellent Contributions in Technology Transfer” of the Ministry of Science and Technology; the results authorization of the “Functional Substance Spherification Oral Preparation Technology” by Distinguished Professor Hsin-Yiu Chou from the Department of Aquaculture and Professor Li-Li Chen from the Institute of Marine Biology won the “2021 Award for Excellent Contributions in Technology Transfer” of the Ministry of Science and Technology; the invention patent “Stamping Molds” by Assistant Professor Kuo-Ming Huang from the Department of Marine Engineering won the Gold Medal Award of the 2021 Taiwan Innotech Expo; and Professor Han-Jia Lin and Professor Chih-Ching Huang from the Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology won the Bronze Award at the 2021 Taipei Biotech Awards for Technology Transfer Cooperation.

Figure: To focus on Industry-academia cooperation on patent and technology transfers, such as the JFY CO.

Figure: The patent technology authorization of “The Research and Development of Endplate Propeller Used in Silent Ships” by Emeritus Professor Young-Zher Kehr won the “2021 Award for Excellent Contributions in Technology Transfer” of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Figure: The results authorization of the “Functional Substance Spherification Oral Preparation Technology” by Distinguished Professor Hsin-Yiu Chou and Professor Li-Li Chen won the “2021 Award for Excellent Contributions in Technology Transfer” of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Figure: Professor Han-Jia Lin and Professor Chih-Ching Huang won the Bronze Award at the 2021 Taipei Biotech Awards for Technology Transfer Cooperation.

(2) Become a Marine Education Think Tank

Establish a long-term database for marine education and accumulate marine education talents

Enrich the marine education network platform

The website platform of NTOU’s Taiwan Marine Education Center enables the public to effectively obtain relevant information on marine education. The content on the webpage is updated every month in accordance with projects implemented throughout the year, while the sections, structures, and search functions on the webpage are continuously enhanced in order to effectively promote marine education activities and knowledge.

Figure: The website platform of NTOU’s Taiwan Marine Education Center.

Establish a long-term database for marine education

Through the continuous investigation of the supply and demand of marine professionals in Taiwan and the accumulation of marine education annual statistics reports, analyses were conducted on the trends in the cultivation and the development of marine professionals in Taiwan. Additionally, the research and development of marine literacy test questions for the three education stages of elementary, junior high, and high school was completed, with the test officially administered and taken in 2021 by 3,666 elementary school students, 1,864 junior high school students, and 4,608 high school students for a total of 10,138 people across the country. In 2021, a total of 10 “Green Level/Initial Marine Educator Training Courses”—completed by a total of about 191 people, were also organized, in addition to 1 “Blue Level/Advanced Marine Educator” training course (in a two-stage training method) and 2 “Marine Educator/Return Education” (1 each for Green Level/Beginner and Blue Level/Advanced) training courses.

Figure: The workshop of “Green Level/Initial Marine Educator Training Courses” is organized.

(3) Commitment to Transnational Teaching and Research Cooperation

Research and develop ocean smart technology

Research and development of AI technology applicable to the industry

The number of students who took courses on topics related to innovative marine industry in 2020 accounted for 36% of undergraduate students. The university also established an AI Research Center with the goal of promoting artificial intelligence-related research, developing key technologies, providing a platform for industry-university cooperative research and development, and promoting industrial development and transformation.

In 2021, the center attempted to develop the “Underwater Drones Combined with Artificial Intelligence Technology” initiative, which greatly helped in the restoration of strombus canarium. In addition, the university also manifested 12 innovation results in agriculture and fishery industry-academia cooperation at the 7^th Taiwan International Fisheries and Seafood Show (TIFSS), including aquatic intelligent breeding technology, aquatic animal innovative bait development, food safety service platform, and pet health food. The university also formed an intelligent cage culture team that developed intelligent cage culture models and offshore cage strategies to be used in the research and development of key culture technologies and anti-storm cage culture experiments; established germplasm gene banks and disease prevention and breeding management strategies to overcame the difficulties encountered in on-site cultivation; and introduced related automation equipment as well as AI technology management models incorporating ICT and IoT technologies to remedy the current international issues of energy saving and carbon reduction.

Figure: To develop the “Underwater Drones Combined with Artificial Intelligence Technology” initiative.

Figure: NTOU manifested 12 innovation results in agriculture and fishery industry-academia cooperation at the 7^th Taiwan International Fisheries and Seafood Show (TIFSS).

Figure: NTOU cooperates with Lienchiang County and develops mussel processed-foods.

Figure: Associate Professor Chang-Wen Huang establishes germplasm gene banks and disease prevention and breeding management strategies to overcame the difficulties encountered in on-site cultivation.

3. Publicity

(1) Improve the underprivileged assistance mechanism

Comprehensive service for indigenous students

The Indigenous Students Resource Center provides comprehensive services for indigenous students

The university’s Indigenous Students Resource Center attends to the matters of indigenous students’ student life, schoolwork and employment guidance, career development, and indigenous education.

Expand admission opportunities for indigenous students

The number of indigenous students enrolled was 95 in the 2019 school year, with this number further increasing to 105 in the 2020 school year and 121 in the 2021 school year.

Increase the quota for the indigenous students’ numerous stars recommendation initiative as well as for individual admissions applications

The total number of students approved by the Ministry of Education in the 2018 academic year was 994, among which 74 (7.44%) were indigenous students. The total number of students approved by the Ministry of Education in the 2021 academic year was 1,117, among which 129 (11.37%) were indigenous students, showing a registration growth rate of 3.93% and effectively demonstrating the university’s efforts in publicity and enrollment.

Hold related lectures on indigenous cultural topics

In 2021, the university organized 1 activity related to the themes of indigenous cultural festival and indigenous ethnic clothing day, and held 24 seminars on the reproduction of the Amis cultural relics alusaysay, 24 lessons on traditional and modern indigenous dances, and 24 lessons on indigenous cuisine in conjunction with Wild Taiwanese Taste Ina’s kitchen to promote students’ understanding of indigenous culture.

Implement the indigenous student life assistance program

As of December 22, 2021, the indigenous part-time administrative assistant scholarship has been issued to 217 people, totaling NT$1,604,077.

Promote the return of indigenous people to their hometowns for the purposes of local creation and development

In collaboration with the North District Colleges and Universities, the university organized tribal visits and homecoming services, as well as 5 homecoming activities—Qingliu Tribe Tour, Mudan Tribe Cultural Health Station, Dowmung Dao Tribe Guided Tour, Maogong Tribe Tour, and Jilai Tribe Hunter School.

Figure: To organize tribal visits and homecoming services.

Figure: A collaboration with the North District Colleges and Universities.

Figure: One of homecoming activities—Qingliu Tribe Tour.

Figure: One of homecoming activities —Jilai Tribe Hunter School.

(2) Innovative learning guidance mechanism：Providing guidance measures and effectiveness tracking for underprivileged students

Promote the MOOCs digital learning plan and cultivate self-learning ability

Encouraged students to learn through the MOOCs platform to enhance their competitiveness. A total of 841 applications were submitted in 2021, of which 763 passed for a pass rate of 91% and an increase of 15% compared to 2020. Because online courses are not subject to the constraints of time and place, students can use their spare time to develop the habit of taking online cross-domain courses.

Develop self-enhancement courses to assist in career planning

The psychological stress-relief counseling course was participated by 52 people and the “University System of Taipei Youth Forum” lectures were participated by 64 people.

Provide licenses and internship opportunities to enhance professional competence

The university established the “A Diamond in the Rough Student General and Professional License Examination Subsidy Method” to subsidize underprivileged students’ license examination fees. The subsidized professional licenses included TOEIC, IELTS advanced licenses, and free diving, and a total of 11 students received the subsidies. In addition, the “A Diamond in the Rough Off-campus Internship Grant” was established to encourage students to participate in internships by reducing burden of life during the internship period, but due to the pandemic only one student submitted the application.

Replace part-time jobs with learning to increase the time spent in school

In 2021, 309 students received scholarships for a total scholarship amount of NT$4,329,000 and with each student receiving an average of NT$14,010. According to the questionnaire survey, 90.8% of the students who received the scholarships used the scholarships to supplement their living expenses, and 65.5% used them to learn new skills and strengthen their language abilities. In terms of learning plans, the MOOCs digital learning plan was widely praised by the students, with 66% of the students reporting that they reduced the time spent on their part-time job and learned new knowledge.

Figure: To provide various workshops and activities to foster students' other abilities.

(3) Openness and transparency of university information

Institutional Research and Development Project

Institutional aspect: Openness and transparency of university information –university affairs management, lifelong learning

Implement university project management (IR) abilities, strengthen self-management ability, and disclose university information.

Set up an institutional research unit to hire IR professionals

The professionals at the university’s institutional research office conduct related analyses on university affairs to assist supervisors in the decision-making process.

Improve the university’s data system

Integrated data related to the various aspects of university affairs (students, teachers, and courses), and initiated work related to the various aspects of integrated research, including database construction and connection. Established a static database and built a university affairs-related module platform and institutional research image module platform, which include a school database module, a department quality assurance core indicator module, and issues analysis. The following is the web link to the university’s institutional research information platform: computer version: http://bit.ly/ntou-ir, and mobile version: https://bit.ly/NTOU-IR-M. All departments have regularly publicized information on the five major aspects of important projects, students, research, university affairs, teaching, and staff, increasing the overall transparency of the university.

Develop institutional research to conduct related analyses and apply the results in university decision-making

For example, the university tracked the performance before and during enrollment of students enrolled through different channels, finding that the students enrolled through the numerous stars recommendation initiative showed a better performance than the students from other admission channels; therefore, the enrollment quota for the university’s numerous stars recommendation initiative was adjusted accordingly. It was also found that the performance in basic subjects was weaker for students enrolled through special selection channels. Thus, positive reinforcement measures were established and the results of analyses were conveyed to improve enrollment methods, while analyses from institutional research were used to modify and adjust teaching models and practices.

Integrate high school learning history data to improve enrollment specialization

By integrating high school learning history data into the university’s teaching affairs database, high school learning history indicators (high school subject scores and class ranking after enrollment in NTOU) were established to serve as a reference for the review of department admission applications conducted by review committees. In addition, through combining the students’ high school learning history data with their history learning data over the years at NTOU, a specialization rule for admissions was established. In the future, it is hoped that the specialization rule can be further improved so as to admit students that better fulfill the needs of departments and demonstrate greater competence in related fields.

Disclosure of university information

The school publicly posted the results of this project on the website of the Higher Education SPROUT Project (https://ctl.ntou.edu.tw/bin/home.php), and set up an “public announcement” bulletin on the university’s homepage to disclose university affairs and financial information (https://www.ntou.edu.tw/info).

Figure: To set up an “public announcement” bulletin on the university’s homepage to disclose university affairs and financial information (https://www.ntou.edu.tw/info).

4. Social Responsibility

(1) Sustainable development of traditional culture

Deepen the teaching practice field—cultural heritage, marine teaching materials

Counsel non-profit organizations (NPO) and revive the traditional fishing village culture

Since 2019, the university has been assisting the Local Association for Advancement (NPO organization) in opening blue ocean workshops, training 50 basic/advanced seawater-dyed yam seed teachers, and planning tours and establishing an online platform (https://www.badouzi789.com/) to sell local culture and specialty products through storytelling.

Develop local marine culture teaching materials and teaching plans and promote marine education

Conducted Ama cultural tours in Gongliao Mao’ao, designed Ama-styled packaging, devised marine education teaching plans—an algae-collecting ama assisted in the passing on of Ama culture in the Mao’ao community by helping to develop 6 sets of marine education teaching plans and teaching kits, including those for gelidium and transparent fishbone specimen creation.

Figure: To develop local marine culture teaching materials and teaching plans.

Cooperate with the media to depict marine ecology and convey the concepts of satoyama and satoumisustainable ocean 

“Guardians of Formosa: Ocean” was co-produced by EBC TV “Focus on the World” and the university’s USR project. An aerial camera was used for shooting at the project site (Gongliao Magang Abrasion Platform), and large written calligraphies were used for the opening sequence of the film. The film won three awards, including the 2021 Golden Bell Award for the Best Natural Science Documentary Program. In addition to promoting the ideas of satoyama and satoumi, the film also conveyed the concepts of ecological conservation and sustainable ocean.

Figure: “Guardians of Formosa: Ocean” was co-produced by EBC TV “Focus on the World” and the university’s USR project.

(2) Promote ecological restoration and conservation

Cross-school and transnational cooperation mechanism

Cross-school exchanges and field practice sharing

Cooperated with the International Master's Program in Asia-Pacific Studies (IMAS) of National Chengchi University to organize transnational student workshops (six countries), where seed students used English to brief about and conduct cross-border exchanges on Japanese and Taiwanese local creative experiences; organized a joint achievement exhibition with the USR project team of the University System of Taipei; and promoted cross-school team cooperation through the presentations and experience sharing of four schools. Cooperated with the National Defense Medical Center to assist students in obtaining basic life-saving licenses, and conducted cross-school medical care cooperation to multiply cross-domain effects.

Figure: To cooperate with the National Defense Medical Center to assist students in obtaining basic life-saving licenses, and conducted cross-school medical care cooperation to multiply cross-domain effects.

Introduce the Japanese local creation model

Signed a letter of intent with Tateyama City Office of Chiba Prefecture, Takahata Town Office in Yamagata Prefecture, and Toyusha Co., Ltd. of Japan. Held 3 training workshops through remote video calls, in which international talent cultivation and experience matching was conducted through participation in transnational cooperation and the shared learning opportunities created for the university’s teachers and students.

Figure: To introduce the Japanese local creation model.

Participate in Taiwan-Japan alliances to enhance transnational cooperation

The university joined the Taiwan-Japan Alliance of Local Revitalization and Social Practice; in 2021, the university participated in 3 Taiwan-Japan alliance preparatory meetings, presented articles at 4 seminars or workshops, helped to foster more local connections between Taiwan and Japan, and carried out international talent cultivation and experience matching.

Figure: To participate in Taiwan-Japan alliances.

(3) Deep Cultivation of Local Marine Education

Strengthen the sharing of teaching and research resources—deepen local cultivation and marine education

Support local educational institutions and organize marine diverse literacy courses

NTOU, Keelung Senior High School, Nuannuan Senior High School, and New Taipei Municipal Xiufeng Senior High School jointly offered marine diverse literacy courses, where in addition to combining remote teaching and physical teaching, senior high school students were introduced to NTOU’s professional laboratories through the holding of experimental practical courses. A total of three courses were offered, including “Marine Humanities and Technology”, “Marine Technology” and “Marine Exploration”, with a total of 120 senior high school students participating in the courses.

Figure: “Marine Technology” was one of marine diverse courses offered to senior high school students.

Establish high school online courses

The school cooperated with teachers from the University System of Taipei to develop “APCS Essentials” MOOCs. The courses were launched on the ewant open education platform, and approximately 800 people took the courses. In addition, “Easily write English abstracts” and “Understand the green gold of the 21^st century – Algae” cooperated with ewant to establish senior high school self-learning courses.

Figure: The University System of Taipei develop “APCS Essentials” MOOCs.

Organize a co-planning community for university and senior high school teachers

NTOU and senior high school and vocational high school teachers jointly established teacher communities for the subjects of mathematics, biology, and general education. The study model included online study, lectures held at senior high schools or vocational high schools, and physical workshops for inducing interaction and discussion and holding practical courses. A total of 14 teaching enhancement workshops were conducted in one year, and the number of participating senior high school and vocational high school teachers in the community reached 856. As a whole, the workshops provided a platform for the teachers to enhance their core and communication abilities.

Provide local services and implement the accompanied study plan for underprivileged senior high school students

Most of the students studying at Badou Senior High School are children with poor social and economic conditions and poor family functions. Therefore, the university arranged 4 students to carry out assisted study at the school every semester to help underprivileged students build interest in learning and self-confidence. About 20 senior high school students participated in the study plan.